Evolution of Conversations in the Age of Email Overload

Email is a ubiquitous communications tool in the workplace and plays an important role in social interactions. Previous studies of email were largely based on surveys and limited to relatively small populations of email users within organizations. In this paper, we report results of a large-scale study of more than 2 million users exchanging 16 billion emails over several months. We quantitatively characterize the replying behavior in conversations within pairs of users. In particular, we study the time it takes the user to reply to a received message and the length of the reply sent. We consider a variety of factors that affect the reply time and length, such as the stage of the conversation, user demographics, and use of portable devices. In addition, we study how increasing load affects emailing behavior. We find that as users receive more email messages in a day, they reply to a smaller fraction of them, using shorter replies. However, their responsiveness remains intact, and they may even reply to emails faster. Finally, we predict the time to reply, length of reply, and whether the reply ends a conversation. We demonstrate considerable improvement over the baseline in all three prediction tasks, showing the significant role that the factors that we uncover play, in determining replying behavior. We rank these factors based on their predictive power. Our findings have important implications for understanding human behavior and designing better email management applications for tasks like ranking unread emails.Comment: 11 page, 24th International World Wide Web Conferenc

Measuring the Impact of the E-Mail Conversation Format on E-Mail Overload: A Pilot Test

It is well known that e-mails are causing information overload. Existing research investigated the amount of e-mails but does not consider the format of a single e-mail and its cognitive impact. Therefore, we investigate e-mail conversations as one of the most promising formats, which is composed of the quoted history of appended e-mails, forwarded to a third person. Cognitive load theory is used to scrutinize the contribution of the e-mail conversation format on intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. The resulting hypotheses and our pilot of the experiment investigate the induction of e-mail overload by e-mail conversations. By successfully validating our measurement instruments we gain first indications of construct validity. As a result we present an exploratory factor analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis, and an assessment of the model fit. Subsequently, we reflect on our findings and present the implications for future research

Why Forwarded Email Threads are Hard to Read: The Email Format as an Antecedent of Email Overload

Research has shown that excessive email use leads to feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed. Existing coping solutions, which mitigate email overload, address the number of emails and, in consequence, the time spent on emails. These approaches are congruent with existing research on antecedents of email overload. Further coping solutions include addressing email threads. However, we lack a theoretical grounding for perceiving email threads as an antecedent of email overload. I suggest cognitive load theory as a means of investigating the format of forwarded email threads in an experiment. I found support for the effects on reading time and performance in terms of correct answers per second, findings that confirm that forwarded email threads are an antecedent of email overload and that we need a new conceptualization of email overload

Age discrimination in the workplace

Age discrimination is often cited as a barrier to participation in work by older people, and the workplace provides the most common grounds for complaints of this nature. Age discrimination predominantly affects older rather than younger groups (although the latter are not exempt), and is often based on myths and stereotyped attitudes about older people and older workers which can be easily refuted. Age discrimination as an issue in the workplace is not new. Age discrimination pervades the entire employment relationship and can take a variety of forms. It occurs in relation to promotion, job allocation, salary differentials, access to training and staff benefits (for example, cut-off ages for life assurance cover and long service leave). General attitudes, as well as inter-staff action such as bullying and exclusion from social activities, can also disadvantage older workers . • Judith Davey is a Senior Associate of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies and was formerly Director of the New Zealand Institute for Research on Ageing. Her main research focus is the policy implications of population ageing

Meetings as Persistent Conversations that use ICTs and Face-to-Face to Build Social Capital

Attending meetings is a common activity where people accomplish tasks and extend their relationships. But what happens when a meeting is over? Is that the end of the meeting conversation? This study empirically demonstrates that meetings are not discrete events; rather they are a form of persistent conversation processes, involving combinations of ICTs and face-to-face communication. Conversations between meetings contribute to a meeting process-perspective and link to the development of bonding and bridging social capital. The findings suggest that the frequency of face-to-face conversations and text messaging between meetings, positively impact bonding social capital. Peoples’ attitudes toward continuing conversations between meetings positively impacts bridging social capital. The frequency of using many contemporary ICTs—e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and GroupMe—between meetings was not a significant predictor in developing social capital, even in a sample of young adults

e-Governance: Supporting pragmatic direct deliberative action through online communities of interest

Authors often report on the limited success of e-Government initiatives in developing nations. Top down, national strategies are developed to target improved government services, but maintain hierarchical, citizen-state conceptions of governance through representative democracy. An alternative conception, direct deliberative democracy, frames the potential role of the internet in governance differently. Web based platforms might support locally animated deliberations, which target pragmatic outcomes, while the resulting social networks afford collective learning through connections across traditional boundaries. This paper presents an investigation of direct deliberative governance as it occurs in online 'communities of interest', and is based on research with such a community in southern Africa. We investigate contributions to the online governance process and develop an action typology distinguishing between degrees of 'agency freedom'. Network analytic techniques are then used to understand how acts of varying degree are expressed in terms of the structure of a social network. The aim, more broadly, is to understand how the environment shapes acts of direct deliberative governance, and, in turn, how the acts shape the evolution and effectiveness of the community. The preliminary results suggest design considerations for online governance communities, and highlight their role to not only provide deliberative space, but to mediate social network connections

The Potential of Blogs for Higher Degree Supervision.

This article discusses the potential of the use of blog technology in supporting research students at the university, and encourages its wider use. Individual blogs open only to student and supervisors can focus and structure dialogue and discussion, helping students to develop their argument and ‘voice’. The general blog “Learn, Live, Thrive” models the development of a reflexive research diary so that students can develop their own. It also encourages students to begin the process of theorization by sharing reading and ideas, and modelling theory. By being open and available to all students, general blogs add to the breadth, depth, effectiveness and efficiency of the supervision process, informing tutorials on the student’s particular topic

The Cost of Convenience: How Excessive Email Use Impacts Our Health

Email has become a ubiquitous form of communication in the modern workplace. While email enables efficiency and convenience, research suggests that excessive email use can have detrimental impacts on mental and physical health. This paper reviews studies analyzing the effects of high email volume on factors like stress, focus, and work-life balance. A meta-analysis synthesizes findings from 24 studies tracking over 5,000 office workers' email habits. Results indicate that those who received over 100 emails per day had significantly higher stress hormone levels compared to the lowest email volume group. Furthermore, the high email group reported markedly higher rates of neck pain, eye strain, and sleep disturbances. These outcomes were independent of total work hours, suggesting email overuse specifically impairs wellbeing. Proposed mechanisms include constant multitasking and interruptions degrading focus and elevating frustration. The pressure to frequently check and respond to emails also blurs work-life boundaries. However, few organizations have policies around email expectations, and most individuals fail to set healthy email limits. Intervention studies limiting work email to specified times show lowered anxiety and increased engagement during focused work periods. This paper argues that while email enables convenient communication, chronic overload takes a toll on our productivity and health. Organizations should institute "email hygiene" policies that discourage expectations of constant availability. Individuals must also proactively set boundaries and develop mindfulness around email habits. Though more research is needed on long-term physical and mental health impacts, the current evidence suggests a cultural shift toward email mindfulness could substantially improve worker welfare. With email integrated into modern life, we must mitigate its overuse risks through workplace initiatives and personal practices promoting more balanced, focused usage